St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-29

palines at her; pheasant whirred in The
eaIk trees above her head. From the 1al
oeptn OF the woodland sounded the solitary
up tap of a lonely woodpecker and he
1 naiI-muffed bay of deep-mouthed hound
Inc world seemed suddenly to have grown
ior Desifee very cherries, very eerle-
Years passed on bringing no merchant
prince, no Indian nabob, no wealthy cotton
spinner to the feet of Desiree LIE Strange
cruel years robbing her of kith and kin,
drifting her from home to home, always
With strangers. A melancholy shadow, 9
gnost of the bright, lovely Desiree LIE
Strange, was this world weary woman
TINS woman who was SO changed in all but
name that the girls who envied her in hel
dazzling youth, and the men who raved
about her, passed by without a smile OF
recognition
Uninteresting days crawling laggardiy
one after the other; how sick she was OF
the drndgery-the thankless office of teach
ing! But she could not starve-sle dar ed
not die; and. Though life had been one
miserable mistake from the beginning and
all her brightest hopes had been crushed,
she Flooded on at her monotonous duties in
a dull, apathetic way. which showed all
energy and spirit had died out OF her.
One delicious afternoon in May found
Desiree lie Strange at a house in Harley
street, listlessly turning the leaves of the
leather bound books which told how gov
erneSseS were wanted. very highly accom-
j pllShed. for very small salaries.
"A steady, conscientious lady," she read,
presently. fond of the country and quiet
life, wanted for two delicate girls of six.
Apply Lady Vessels, Cranforth Grange,
| WorcesterShire.'
Vessels! Wesselsr' murmured De-
stree; ANY relation, 1 wonder, to the
Daniel Vessels | once kneW?" and she at
once made up her mind to try for the stu
alton.
:: =
Cranforth Grange was a many-gabled
granite-blOcked mansion, standing on a
| Slightly wooded eminence in a richly tim
bered, undulating park. The avenue which
led up from the main road was good mile
| long and shaded by tall beech trees meeting
in an arch overhead. and winding through
the grounds, now flashing in the sunlight,
now hiding amidst the shadows of the
dropping silver willows, flowed the beauti-
| full Pinkthorne river, bordered with plumy
ferns and tangled briers, with here and
there clump of brilliant rhododendrons
The wild ducks loved their river, and the
! o"Uiio oSShiSo NCdIy VI ouHIllS VII It's
| surface; yellow water lilies floated like
miniature islands here and there, and the
prettiest rustic bridges spanned it in parts
| where the waters where tolerably narrow
AT the far end, under the thickest shades
OF the willows, nestled an old boat-house,
all creeper- smothered and rush-sentineled.
! :. x
1t was gala day for the whole village
a day OF rejoicing-when Judge Vessels
came home to Cranforth Grange. The bells
rang merrily. the banners waved to and fro
welcome, Welcome" in the soft spring
breeze, and now the carriage dashed up the
long beech avenue, and presently, in a
twnklng it seemed, the children were
springing into their fathers arms and
smothering him with kisses.
Kindly, generously, the years had dealt
with Daniel Vessels: perfectly happy, too
he looked to-day with the arms of his fair
! haired twins twined about his neck and his
left hand resting OH his wife's shoulder
Desree, in the background, watched the
| joyous meeting between husband and wife,
father and children. and felt sudden
choky sensation rise in her thu at. an odd,
sharp. sickenlng pain seize her heart, al
most taking her breath away, and prayed
! that she might not faint-that she might
not make scene. :"
Miss LIE Strange, our governess," said
Lady Vessels, presently.
And then-oh, how like a dream it
seemed, meeting the bearded face and shak-
! the large. firm hand of Sir Daniel Vessels.
A minute more. and the Judge with his
| wife and children, was in the library
where CHEEKY log-fire blaZed, and Desiree
found herself mounting the wide oak stair
case to her solitary school-room. But for
her own folly, she told herself, she might
have been queen of this house to-day How
unbearable the thought WaS-hoW madden
! ing.
| For whole year she had striven to do
her duty, and had learned to love pretty,
gentle Lady Vessels his wife; but she
could not meet the judge daily and not be-
| tray herself-not let him and others see
how accurately she felt her position. True
he had not appeared to recognize her: but
sooner or later he would assuredly discover
that Desree LIE Strange, who flung back
his love one autumn eve years ago. and the
DeSiree LIE Strange of to-day were the
same. Chance had brought her here under
his roof. Surprising by chance she died to-
night, who would miss her?
And then. mechanically, almost like one
forced TO act in spite of herself, she crossed
the room and unlocked the little medicine
chest which stood on sideboard Her eve
ran over the bottles and boxes and china
pots.
1t was very small bottle she at last took
up, labelled ''Chloroform."
Il have bad toothache and headache, -
she murmured, with an odd smile. Per
haps this will make me sleep"
:
''Her own enemy, even to the last -
thought the judge. looking at Desiree LIE
Strange's beautiful dead face with a shadow
on his own.
For the features which had not struck
him yesterday in life spoke plainly enough
i'll death-told him patheticalIy, better than
thousand words, that this was the Desree
he had once loved-the girl who had almost
broken his heart by the old stone bridge
He had been very busy all these years
so busy that the memory of the wears
pretty daughter had gradually grown faint
and dim. Yet looking at the dead face
now, so lovely and placid in its last sleep, a
mist slowly gathered in his eyes-for he had
loved her once with all his heart and soul
and he was grieved to the depth of his
being that her DAYS should have ended TINS